Anthology of Brothers and Friends
by InLoveWithMysteries
Summary: Dabbles and shorts. Same AU as "Always". Some pre-school shooting, some post. Mostly how everyone else feels. Rated M because I'm paranoid. I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!
1. Seto's Culture Clash

**Summary:** Seto Kaiba needs help and then he does something stupid.

 **Disclaimer:** I **_do not_ ** own Yu-Gi-OH!

 **Dedication:** _Jehbel_! Thank you for proof reading and giving me good ideas :). _Archaeologist of Humanity_ \- thank you for being a good sport :)

* * *

 **Seto's Culture Clash**

Seto Kaiba was not known for his patience. He was known for his business skills and his proficiency at Duel Monsters. It had become common knowledge that the once Number One duellist had many enemies and few friends, if any. It was also common knowledge that everything he did, he only did for one of two reasons: Because it was profitable for Kaiba Corp. or because it could benefit his little brother, Mokuba.

Right now, for reasons undisclosed, Kaiba Corp. needed a solid Public Relations boost. Under normal circumstances, this would be Mokuba's job. Seto admired his brother's talent for turning a game night with friends into a research session on Kaiba Corp.'s public image. If Mokuba played a video game with the Muto brothers, Joey and Ryou on a Friday night, there was a 99,5 per cent chance, that the younger Kaiba would come up with the perfect media stunt to keep his brother's company out of trouble the following Monday morning. Because of Mokuba's social skills and flair for using gossip to his advantage, Seto Kaiba had never had any need of a PR Department.  
Under normal circumstances, Mokuba could handle it on this own.  
But these were not normal circumstances.

Mokuba had lost a friend.

There had been a shooting incident at Seto's school. Seto himself had not been present as he had a company to run and could not be bothered to attend the school dance. Everyone else had been there, including the Muto brothers – Mokuba's friends. Atem Muto had shielded his younger brother, Yugi, from two bullets. Atem had died from his injuries. The Kaiba brothers had attended his funeral themselves and after that, Seto had witnessed his little brother change. He didn't play games with his friends anymore. He stuck his nose in his textbooks as soon as he got home from school. During the weekends, Mokuba would just stay at Kaiba Corp. and run some minor tests, or, if he wasn't at Kaiba Corp., he would sit in his room and correct his homework five times over. Everyone was worried about him. Seto was heartbroken.

Normally, Mokuba would do the PR. Normally, he would be cheerful and use his social skills to get a feel for the company's image. But he couldn't do that at the moment. Mokuba was afraid to leave the house. He was afraid to leave Seto. He was sad all the time.

Contrary to popular belief, Seto Kaiba was not heartless. He couldn't ask Mokuba to do his PR for him. Not at this moment. He had to give his brother time to heal.

Seto had to do the PR himself for a change. He needed help.

* * *

Emma Schultz was widely know as a woman with a smile as pleasant as a summery perfume and a mind as sharp as a razor blade. Her fingers were dancing across the keyboard of her silver laptop, busily finishing the last details of the monthly newsletter of Schultz Gaming AG. She was slightly annoyed when her phone decided to interrupt her train of thought, but when she saw the name _Kaiba Seto_ on the small screen, she lazily picked up:

"Why are you not sleeping, Seto? It must be at least 11 PM in Japan right now!"

"Thank you for telling me, what time it is in my own country, Emma."

"I'm just concerned. You hardly ever sleep these days."

"The Hell you are. Now, can we discuss business or are you going to be pathetically European and complain that I'm interrupting your after-work beer?"

"Don't insult me. You know I prefer blood red wine."

* * *

Kaiba chuckled. He would never admit it to anyone but he actually liked the spunky German duellist. She knew what hard work and late nights felt like. She knew what it meant to be responsible for other people's livelihoods. She knew how to make the hard decisions and was prepared to live with the consequences. He respected Emma for her skills. She had spend her early teens rebuilding the image of father's company after the public disgrace of a lawsuit concerning fraud. The case was purely build on lies and rumours but it had hit the profits hard. Kaiba had not known back when he first duelled her in an international Duel Monsters tournament, but when he learned, he initiated a partnership based on trade between Kaiba Corp. and Shultz Gaming.

They were not close – not like Emma and the Muto brothers – but in situations like this one, Emma Schultz was the closest thing Seto Kaiba had to a friend. As noted, Kaiba Corp. needed a PR boost, and Emma was the best shot that he had.

* * *

Emma giggled on her end of the line, taking another sip of her coffee. Anybody else would have taken Kaiba's insults to heart but she knew she did not have to. They had done business together for so long now that they had developed their own sarcastic lingo. The public never understood how the two gaming companies were still trading after all the insults between the Japanese CEO and the German Communications Manager.

"So, Kaiba-san! What can I do for you?"

"Well, Fräulein Schultz…"

* * *

Seto Kaiba did not get to finish his sentence before he could hear a vast amount of furious German curses. He was slightly taken aback when, finally, his conversational partner had cooled enough to reply. He had not expected to ever hear the level headed Emma swear in the phone or shout at a business partner…  
That was usually _his_ thing.

"Kaiba-kun! How _dare_ you! BAKA! VOLLIDIOT! What the Hell?!"

"What? What did I do?"

"What so you mean, what did you do? You call me three hours before my deadline and you insult me!"

"You spend too much time with those runts. I didn't insult you."

"Oh no?! Then why do you call me something you only call school girls?"

* * *

Emma could hardly believe what she had just experienced. She was not sure whether Kaiba had been intentionally rude or if he was just generally bad at understanding foreign languages and cultures. Whatever the reason, it had better be good if she was to continue doing business with his company.

"Pardon me, Emma Schultz, but I don't recall calling an unmarried woman _miss_ to be rude." Kaiba sneered.

"It is if you use _Fräulein_! How would you feel if an employee used _–kun_ and not _–sama_?"

"I'd fire him on the spot."

"Then give me one good reason to do business with someone too arrogant to show me the respect of calling me _Frau Schultz_." Emma hissed between her teeth. The comparison was not completely accurate since there were far too many honorifics in the Japanese language for Emma to remember them all. Still, it served its purpose in silencing the self-sufficient CEO for a little while before he answered:

"I'm… I'm sorry, Frau Schultz. I did not know there was a difference. Please forgive me."

"It's all right, Seto. I just was just shocked you didn't call me Emma, that's all. But FYI, never call someone over 12 years of age _Fräulein_ in my region of Germany. It's considered really rude unless used as an internal joke between friends."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Emma took another sip of her coffee before she asked Kaiba why he had called her to begin with. He told her about the PR problem that Kaiba Corp. faced after the cancellation of this year's Battle City Tournament. It had given them some bad press and the rumours of internal conflict in Kaiba Corp. were beginning to spread like a wildfire.

"Why did you cancel the tournament, Seto? Be honest."

"My school had just been caught in a scene right out of a Stephen King-novel. Atem Muto hadn't even rested in his grave for a week. Was I supposed to carry on as if nothing had happened?"

"No, but postponing would have been an option. Never mind that now, do you want my help with the PR?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll deal with the press – but I want something in return. I never work for free."

* * *

Kaiba asked her to name a price. She told him exactly what she wanted. It was not something that Seto Kaiba was willing to give. He futilely tried to talk to her sense of good business strategy. Her reasoning with regard to profits. But Emma was stubborn. She was not interested in money. She wanted information. The young CEO from Japan was not known for his patience. He was known for his business skills and his proficiency in Duel Monsters. Unfortunately, Emma Schultz was widely known for her razor sharp mind. She had sensed something in Kaiba at the funeral of the 17 year old Atem Muto.

"If I tell you – will you keep it from the public?"

"Of course Seto! I'm your business partner, not a snitch!"

Seto sighed. He had to pull himself together and take a few deep breaths before he could even say the words. He was not a man to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he really needed Emma's help. There was no other way. He had to put his darkest thoughts into words.

"What if it's not over? What if this maniac is still out there? What if he targets Mokuba's science fair?"

"Isn't that why you have body guards?"

"Yes. I'm just paranoid."

"Is that why you threatened those journalists with law suits?"

"Yes. If it had been me…. If Mokuba had been in that much pain… I'd…"

"You would want your brother to feel safe and not be bothered by nosy questions." Emma finished the sentence. Kaiba confirmed. This was perfect. This was what it was all about. This was what it was always about. In the end, it all came back to Seto's love for Mokuba. This was perfect. This was an advantage. This gave Emma the tools she needed to help Seto with his PR problem.

"Listen very carefully, Seto. I'm almost out of power, so I'll say this only once!"

As Seto listened to Emma's strategy, he felt stupid for not thinking of it himself. What would this year's tournament mean if the one next year was bigger and held in honour of the King of Games? And surely the public could not hate a young man like Seto Kaiba for taking time off to care for his little brother, who was still in pain and shock after having lost a dear friend? This was not about internal conflict in Kaiba Corp.  
This was about brothers.

* * *

 **Okay. I know next to nothing about Japanese culture, and what I know about Germany is limited to where I used to live.**

 **The "Fräulein"-ting is from my own experience. It may differ from region to region.**

 **In other words: This is just a dabble about culture clashes :)**

 **I have a few dabbles in mind, but I'm open to suggestions :)**


	2. The Wing Woman

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

 **Author's note:** This is something I came up with because, for some wierd reason, Puppyshipping just seems funny. And I already had an OC that I could convieniently use. Please do feel free to comment :)

NB! This takes place around July 10 years after the events of "Always", same AU.

* * *

 **Summary** : _Seto Kaiba is usually good at getting what he wants. Usually. But when it comes to asking his crush out, he needs help. There is only one person in the world, whom he would ever ask for help: Emma Schultz._

* * *

 **The Wing Woman**

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Kaiba, I didn't know you were in a meeting with Miss Schultz. Please excuse me."

A rather flustered and embarrassed assistant rushed out the door as he had seen his employer's German business partner sitting casually leaned back against her chair with her legs crossed. He had noticed her pointy toed, green mary-janes. When he returned out, the guards asked him why he suddenly looked high. Embarrassed, he said that nothing was wrong and went away. Nice legs or not - she was out of his league.

* * *

"Cute assistant. A little green, but cute." Emma teased as she took another sip of her coffee. She was trying to lighten the mood after what had been an unwanted inconvenience. The assistant could not have picked a worse time to interrupt.

"I hired him for his credentials."

"I'm sure you did, but he's still cute. Bonus."

Normally, Seto Kaiba never made anything easy for anyone. Not for his employees. Not for himself. Not even for his little brother. But right now, he had made it all too easy for Emma to tease him. He had told her his secret. She was one of the few business partners that he actually trusted. He looked in the direction that his assistant had looked; Emmas green shoes and her printed nylons. He could see how a guy might find her interesting if that guy was not… well… himself.

"He's not my type." He finally admitted. Emma just smiled at him.

"No. You like them blond and with a hot temper to contrast your cool."

She said it in the same deadpan, matter-of-fact way that Kaiba would normally use himself. His ears went red and he looked at his coffee mug. He wasn't sure about what to do next.

First step had been to admit to himself that he was not into girls or women.

Second step had been to admit to himself that he was, in fact, in love.

Third step had been admitting that he had fallen in love with the most outrageously pathetic third-rank duellist in the world. The one with the hottest temper and an undying loyalty to his friends. The one that, for reasons undisclosed, Seto could not get out of his head.

Fourth step was admitting it to Emma.

The fifth step was yet to come. It was the hardest step of them all. It was to ask her for help and advice on inviting this guy out.

"Did you ask me for a meeting during the preparations for Battle City to be your wing woman? Man Seto, you need to get out more! Only one option, we're hitting the bars tonight – no excuses. Kaiba Corp. will still be there tomorrow."

* * *

It wasn't exactly the kind of bar that Kaiba would normally go to. Not that he normally went to bars he usually spent all his time on his company and Duel Monsters. After he left High School he had devoted his efforts fully to Kaiba Corp. for a year before he began his pursuit of a University degree, while still working. Battle City Tournaments had grown in seize and popularity over the last decade. It was good for business but it also kept him up late at night. There was so much to do, and now his stupid heart wanted his attention.

Emma was much more of a social butterfly, he thought. She could slip into a black dress, let her hair down and just talk to everyone. A little like Mokuba, really. She had somehow managed to make the man behind the bar keep their presence private and a secret while he was being very generous with the wine. Blood red as she liked it. Kaiba would have preferred coffee.

"Why are we here again?"

"Because you want to ask your puppy out on a date."

"I know. But why a bar?"

"Because the Arcade has closed and this is the second least suspicious place that I could ask him to meet us."

"What did you say to him?"

"I said that we needed to discuss the BC Tournament and that your office was under renovation."

"Did the geek really fall for that?"

"Well, Yugi called my bluff but he played along."

Well, that explained it all. If there was one thing that Kaiba knew about Yugi Muto, it was that he was not keen on bluffing his friends unless he was duelling them. If he had actually played along with Emma's scheme to set up one of their friends, said friend would never suspect a thing. This was a no-brainer even for Kaiba. Emma and Yugi were like brother and sister and if they were in on something together, no-one stood a chance.

"He's here. I see him at the door," Emma smiled and took a sip of her wine; "I'll go get him."

* * *

Getting Joey to come to the bar and join them had not been difficult. What was difficult was to get him to stay. Emma had prepared with an A4-stationary and her infamous green ball pen at the ready to avoid suspicion until she was sure that she could leave the men alone. If she had had more time in Domino, she would have chosen another day, but she did have a job in Germany that she had to go home to.

"I understand that it's difficult, Joey," she agreed with a sugar-coated voice, "but I have a plane to catch tomorrow and we really need your help with this."

"I understand, Em. Is just, yeh know, I don't like leavin' Yug alone this day. Especially not with Tea out of town."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry."

"We may be rivals, but I do feel for Yugi." Kaiba began, "Atem would have been 27 today. It can't be easy for him."

"You aren't rivals, Moneybags. Not to him. You may not like it, but Yugi sees you as a friend."

"Figures."

Emma shook her head. This was going in the wrong direction. They weren't supposed to fight. She raised her glass; "For Atem Muto. Friend. Rival. Brother. May the old chap have a happy birthday and may he rest in peace!"

"For Atem." Kaiba seconded.

"For Atem. Rest in peace, bro!" Joey cheered.

As the mood lifted along with the brain storming session that followed, Emma excused herself to go to the ladie's room. She "accidentally" spilled some of her wine on Joey's jeans. She apologised and volunteered to grap some tissue paper on her way back.

As soon as Emma was out of sight, Kaiba took the tissues from the neighbouring booth and handed them to Joey.

"Geez Kaiba, how much have you let her drink? It's not like her to spill wine."

"It's her third glass." Kaiba chuckled, "I think the prospect of losing a Tournament is getting to her."

"Why would she lose? She won last year and she ain't gettin' worse."

"Last year she was the only one from your gang that competed. This year she's up against Yugi."

"And me."

"Be real, Wheeler. You may not be a third-rank duellist parody anymore – but you still can't crush Emma or Yugi."

"You may be righ…. Hang on. What did you say? Was that a compliment?"

Kaiba turned red. He looked down. This was stupid. Why couldn't he just insult Joey and move on?

"Yeah. It was a compliment."

Joey was astonished. He had never thought that Kaiba would ever compliment him, and he was more than unprepared for the confession that followed. That Kaiba actually liked him – and not just as a friend. He didn't know what to do about himself when the question finally came from the CEO. Seto Kaiba asked him out on a date. He fell silent. Then he smiled. Then they both smiled and Joey said: "Sure thing."


	3. Ryou's Letter

**Ryou's Letter**

 **Summary:** Ryou suffers from insomnia after the tragic school shooting. His twin brother, the more aggressive Bakura, is worried about him and makes a very remarkable suggestion.

 **I DON'T OWN YU-GI-OH!**

* * *

The room was still wrapped in darkness as Bakura's eyes opened. He grimaced, baring his teeth at the alarm clock as reality hit him. If there was one thing in this world more loathsome than the countless memories of life before they moved to Domino City last year, it would be having his sleep interrupted by that one cup of tea he drank after 8 PM to keep his brother company and calm him down a bit. He had to go to the bathroom and it was only slightly past midnight.

On his way back to his room, Bakura heard noises from the living room. Anger rising, he swiftly grabbed a baseball bat from behind the door to his room and made his way down the stairs without a sound. No burglar would survive trespassing _his_ home. _He_ would make sure that his brother was safe.

Poor Ryou, who had just lost one of his dearest friends.

Poor Ryou, who had been through so much but wouldn't harm a fly.

Poor Ryou, who…

…sat in the sofa and doodled in one of his school blocks. _Well, this is new_ , Bakura thought to himself as he put down the baseball bat and waked towards the sofa to join his twin. Ryou turned his head to face him with those uncanny, blank, sorrowful eyes. Those eyes that Bakura hated so intensely. They used to be so full of light and wonder. Now they just looked – dead. They had been like that for the last couple of days, and it all began because of some idiot who just turned up at the school dance and shot at random. _At least he won't be doing that again_ , was the only remotely positive thought that crossed Bakura's mind.

"Why are you still up, aibou?" Bakura asked, wrapping an arm around Ryou's shoulders.

"Can't sleep" the younger twin answered in a small whisper.

"Nightmares?"

"Probably. I haven't even tried to sleep tonight. I'm too scared."

"Scared? Of what?"

"Every time I close my eyes, all I see is my friends dying."

"Because of the school shooting?"

"Yes. It started as a replay of what happened. Now, it's worse. It's not just Atem anymore. Last night is was all of you; You, Yugi, Joey, Tea, Mokuba, Tristan, Miho… You. I lose you every time I sleep."

"I'm still here, brother. I did not die."

"No. I know. Thank God. But Atem did. He was my friend, Bakura. He was Yugi's brother. How do I cope?"

"How would I know? I usually feel better after destroying something but I doubt that would work for you."

"You are probably right, it's just…"

Silence. There was something in the way that Ryou had interrupted himself that poked away at Bakura's brain.

"It's just what? Aibou, what are you not saying?"

"I…" Ryou's voice trailed off and he began to sob. The sobbing turned into crying. Bakura said nothing, he just held his brother close while waiting for his voice to come back. Finally, Ryou continued: "It's just, you know how Atem and Yugi helped us when we first moved here? All those times he stood up for me? That time he marched into the Principals office because Mrs Onnara was harassing us? That time he called his grandfather and asked if we could sleep over because Dad needed surgery and I was afraid of going back to Mom and Frank? It's just… all those times, Atem really came through for us when he didn't have to. I don't feel like I ever really thanked him for that. And now he's gone and I have no chance of ever repaying hi kindness."

Bakura thought about this for a while, then took the school block and ball pen from Ryou's hands. He turned a page and wrote down two words: _Dear Atem_. He handed the block and ball pen back to Ryou.

"Write him a letter, " the older twin said in a calmer, less menacing tone: "The funeral is in a couple of days. Write Atem a letter and bury it with him. Who knows? If there is an afterlife, maybe he'll get it. Either way, it will most likely help you clear your head."

Ryou thanked Bakura and, after a hug, Bakura went back to bed. Ryou stared at the paper and at the words. He put the pen to the paper and started writing.

* * *

 _Dear Atem,_

 _Thanks for everything. I'm sorry that I didn't say it before. I'm sorry that I didn't just thank you properly in life. I can only hope that you don't resent me or find me ungrateful for that reason. For I am grateful._

 _The truth is that I didn't know how to thank you properly. You always put everyone else before yourself and you always stood up for your little brother and your friends. What I find truly amazing is, that you did the same for Bakura and me, when we first moved here. You didn't know us but you still treated us like friends and allies. You didn't have to, but you did._

 _I still remember our first day in Domino City when the moving van was late. I dropped the box of utensils and my stressed out dad had a strong reaction, but you told him to keep his cool. You had never met us but you just helped us. You even asked Yugi nicely to call your grandfather while you called all of your friends, so we could get help with moving all our boxes before it was too dark to see anything._

 _I also remember how you voluntarily slept on the floor in Yugi's room when our Dad was in surgery. Again, you didn't have to. I guess that's just a Muto thing to do. You give so much. Your grandfather opened his home – your home – for a pair of twins he hardly knew, so we wouldn't have to live with our Mum and her husband. It was still your idea in the first place. You didn't beg or order, you just asked your grandfather nicely and explained what had happened to us before Dad got custody. It was one of the nicest things, which anyone has done for us._

 _You always came through for us. You treated us like your brothers. You were firm and strict, but never mean or demanding. When we first came here, we were so used to everyone looking down on us and resenting us. We were met with gossip and we were constantly told that we were worthless. You never did that. You and Yugi both did your utmost to make us feel welcome. You made me feel like I belong here. You taught me that I can still be kind without being a doormat. You gave me a fair chance to have friends._

 _I never thanked you properly for all this in life. Sorry._

 _Thank you so much for everything Atem._

 _Take care, my friend, and rest in peace_

 _Ryou_

* * *

Ryou looked down at the letter. Then he laid down the block and pen on the coffee table and took a deep breath. His eyes grew heavy and before he knew it, he fell asleep on the sofa. He had no nightmares. Just a full nights sleep.


End file.
